Celebrating UK-India partnership on research & innovation

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

To commemorate UK-India collaboration on research and innovation, the British High Commission, New Delhi is celebrating Research & Innovation Week from November 11-15. During the week, the UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN), Department for International Development (DFID) South Asia Research Hub and the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) in partnership with Research Councils UK (RCUK) India are bringing together senior academics, research funders, policy makers and key government officials from both the countries.

Research is the fastest growing area of bilateral cooperation. Highpoint of the celebration this week is the announcement of £150mn in UK-India joint research collaboration, since 2008. (Please refer to announcements in the end)

Speaking at the UK-India Research and Innovation Showcase, held in New Delhi today, Sir Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, said:

India and the UK make for excellent partners in research and innovation and the relationship has gone from strength to strength. The UK’s research community punches significantly above its weight, producing 14% of the world’s most highly cited research publications. In any field you look at, we truly value the enormous contributions that scientists of Indian origin bring to make British research and innovation great.

Jointly hosted by British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan, KCMG, and Sir Mark Walport, the event to celebrate the RCUK India’s fifth anniversary was also held at the British High Commission in New Delhi.

Prof Paul Boyle, RCUK International Champion, said:

RCUK India has a clear goal – for the UK to become India’s partner of choice in research. The joint research programme has gone from an almost zero base prior to 2008 to close to £150mn now, funding more than 80 high-quality, high-impact research projects involving over 90 industry partners – and this continues to grow.

Dr T Ramasami, Secretary to the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology, said:

It gives me immense pleasure to congratulate our two countries on building an epic partnership in the field of research and innovation. I am particularly pleased at our advancement towards building academic and industry links.

The India-UK Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme was launched with an ultimate aim to develop innovative products and services to deliver economic and social benefits. New funding up to £5mn from the Technology Strategy Board which is the UK’s innovation agency, with matched resources from India’s Department of Science Technology (DST) was announced for industrial R&D collaboration. It will support business-led projects between Indian and UK companies.

David Golding, Head of Strategy at the Technology Strategy Board, UK said in New Delhi:

The Technology Strategy Board is very pleased to be working with the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance and the Department of Science & Technology. This is a very important and exciting opportunity. Combining the best of Indian and UK expertise and capabilities has the potential to lead to some truly innovative developments, to the benefit of both countries.

This is the first bilateral programme to be established between the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, on behalf of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Technology Strategy Board, UK .

Announcements in detail:

£150 mn in UK-India joint research collaboration, since 2008:

Up to £10mn of new research projects in Sustainable Bioenergy were awarded, funded jointly by the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

Up to £13mn of new research projects in Farmed Animal Disease and Health were awarded, funded jointly by the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT). This is DBT’s first international programme in this area

A series of 14 UK-India workshops in Applied Mathematics jointly supported by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Two letters of intent on new initiatives were also signed:

An agreement between DFID, RCUK and DBT which will form the first phase of a Global Research Partnership. This will fund collaborative trilateral research partnerships addressing major global challenges on health, food security and women, to generate new evidence to support better global policy and practice in these vital areas. Partnerships will also include low income countries to help build their research capacity to address these issues.

A bilateral agreement between the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to exchange skills and expertise between institutions in India and the UK

60 new UKIERI-facilitated partnerships in research and skills worth over GBP 3 million.

India-UK Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme:

New funding up to £5mn from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board which is the UK’s innovation agency, with matched resources from India’s Department of Science Technology (DST) was announced for industrial R&D collaboration. The India-UK Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme is the first bilateral programme between the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, on behalf of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency. It will support business-led projects between Indian and UK companies, the ultimate aim being to develop innovative products and services that deliver real economic and social benefits. The initial focus of the programme is on energy systems and affordable healthcare.

Further Information:

Partners to Research & Innovation Week:

Research Councils UK India

Research Councils UK (RCUK) India, launched in 2008, brings together the best researchers in the UK and India through high-quality, high-impact research partnerships. RCUK India, based at the British High Commission in New Delhi, has facilitated co-funded initiatives between the UK, India and third parties that have grown close to £150 million. The research collaborations are often closely linked with UK and Indian industry partners, with more than 90 partners involved in the research.

RCUK India is actively involved in co-funded research activities with seven major Indian research funders on a wide array of research themes addressing global challenges such as energy, climate change, social sciences, healthcare and life sciences. Also see Research Councils UK

Science and Innovation Network

The UK’s Science and Innovation Network (SIN) works to benefit the UK through influencing and sourcing opportunities in the science and innovation policies of governments, businesses and academia, informing UK policy, and promoting ‘best with best’ collaboration between the UK and other nations. They create strategic relationships to harness the value of science and innovation discoveries and investments overseas, leading to mutual UK and host-country benefits. SIN officers engage with the local science and innovation community in support of UK policy overseas. SIN is jointly funded by the UK’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. SIN consists of 90 staff, based in 28 countries/territories and 47 cities around the world.

UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI)

UKIERI is a multi-stakeholder bilateral programme, launched in 2006 to strengthen the educational relationship between India and the UK and set an example of best practice in international cooperation. The programme is supported and funded by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Council, Indian Department for Science and Technology, Department for Employment and Learning, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and University Grants Commission. The programme has successfully engaged with government agencies both in the UK and India around credit recognition, quality assurance, leadership and knowledge transfer, ensuring UK being recognized as a country of choice for partnering positive social change.

UKIERI has facilitated over 200 research partnerships between the UK and Indian institutions since 2006; providing opportunities for knowledge transfer, world class research and capacity building.

DFID South Asia Research Hub

The South Asia Research Hub (SARH) is part of the UK Government’s Department of International Development (DFID). It was established in April 2010 and is co-located with the Research Councils UK (RCUK), and Science and Innovation Network (SIN) Teams in the British High Commission, Delhi. DFID is one of the largest funders of development research in the world and SARH’s vision is to support DFID programmes in south Asia to become world-class in using evidence to drive Value for Money (VfM) and development impact and to provide better evidence to all decision makers in development.

Technology Strategy Board, UK

The Technology Strategy Board is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy.

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone.